🍊 SYRACUSE COMING OF AGE

Gary Gait's Syracuse team is growing up before our eyes.

After a 4-10 finish in Year 1 under Gait, a deep freshman class has come in and lifted the Orange back to national relevancy. They've taken their punches along the way, but now this team is 8-5 and on the NCAA Tournament bubble.

Syracuse's last two wins have been particularly impressive. First, they went to Princeton and picked up a quality road win. Standout freshman Joey Spallina had nine points (four goals, five assists) in the 16-13 win. Then, last Saturday, they faced North Carolina at a neutral site in Olney, Md. and defeated their ACC rivals 15-14.

Another freshman, midfielder Michael Leo, scored the game-winning goal against UNC with 12 seconds left in the fourth quarter. This was a true coming of age moment, as Syracuse hosted this same Tar Heels team in late February and lost handily, 19-13.

With the win, Syracuse has moved up to No. 15 in The People's Top 20. They're now also among the top 20 teams in RPI. The next two weekends will determine whether the Orange will still be playing in May.

First, they have to go to Charlottesville and play Virginia. Syracuse will be a significant underdog in that matchup, but UVA doesn't look as unbeatable as they did a month ago. The Cavaliers are 2-3 in their past five outings.

After that, 'Cuse will travel to Durham to play Duke. On March 5, the Blue Devils barely escaped the JMA Wireless Dome with an overtime win — could the Orange make it that close on the road?

If Syracuse pulls off an upset in either of those two games, that should be enough to prove this up-and-coming team belongs in the NCAA Tournament.

😈 Duke Extends Streak vs. Virginia

Okay, this is starting to get weird.

On Saturday, Duke beat Virginia...again. This is the second time the Blue Devils have defeated the Cavaliers this year, and it's the 18th straight time they've beat them in regular-season play dating back to 2004. Virginia has won a couple postseason games against Duke during that span, most recently in the 2019 NCAA semifinals.

Duke's 15-14 win over Virginia this past weekend wasn't as close as the final score would make it seem. Duke built a 10-3 lead in the first half, and the game wasn't close until UVA scored three unanswered goals in the last four minutes of regulation.

Although Duke controlled this game for a full 60 minutes, the victory wasn't cemented until goalie Will Helm stuffed Virginia's Payton Cormier on the crease with 13 seconds left and then swallowed a desperation heave as the buzzer sounded.

The Blue Devils clearly have Virginia's number in the regular season, but a potential third meeting in the NCAA Tournament would be interesting. It's difficult to beat a team three times in one season — especially a team as talented as the Hoos.

🔁 Circles of Parity Complete

Two conferences with a ton of parity this season are the Big Ten and the Ivy League. Last weekend, both conferences completed the Circle of Parity. Check these results...

Big TenPenn State beat Hopkins, 12-11 (OT)Hopkins beat Ohio State, 17-8Ohio State beat Rutgers, 11-7Rutgers beat Michigan, 13-12Michigan beat Maryland, 16-11Maryland bear Penn State, 13-10Ivy LeagueHarvard beat Cornell, 10-8Cornell beat Yale, 20-10Yale beat Brown, 16-10Brown beat Penn, 12-11Penn beat Princeton, 9-8 (OT)Princeton beat Dartmouth, 17-7Dartmouth beat Harvard, 10-9 (OT)

All six teams make the Big Ten Tournament, but only the top four get an invite to the Ivy League tournament. That's unfortunate, because anybody can apparently beat anybody in both of these conferences.

🙏 Community Supports Lindenwood Player

The Lindenwood men's lacrosse team is dealing with a tragic situation, as freshman Noah Berger was struck by a car while walking back to his dorm on Saturday night and suffered a traumatic brain injury. A GoFundMe was quickly set up for Berger's recovery, and the fundraiser surpassed its goal of $50,000 in less than 24 hours.

Denise Berger, Noah's mother, shared an update on Monday:

Berger is an attackman from Centennial, Minnesota. He has played in eight games for the Lions this season and scored his first career goal in a win over Queens last month.

📺 Midweek TV/Streaming Info

All times Eastern (streaming links via Inside Lacrosse/USA Lacrosse Magazine):

Tuesday, April 18:7 p.m. — Georgetown at Loyola (ESPN+)7 p.m. — UMass Lowell at Holy Cross (ESPN+)

Wednesday, April 19:*No Division I Men's games*

Thursday, April 20:*No Division I Men's games*

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